1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a spray-dried detergent or to a component therefor, the spray-dried detergent or the component therefor showing favorable dispensing behavior and favorable solubility behavior. The present invention also relates to a washing process in which the spray-dried detergent is dispensed from a dispensing compartment into a commercial washing machine.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Nonionic surfactants are known to exhibit very high cleaning power which makes them particularly suitable for use at washing temperatures of 60.degree. C. or lower. Depending on their hydrophilicity, however, nonionic surfactants can only be processed by spray drying in certain quantities because, otherwise, excessive pluming occurs in the waste air of the spray drying towers and the spray-dried powder is left with unsatisfactory flow properties. In addition, when incorporated in the slurry, they undesirably increase its viscosity where anionic surfactants are simultaneously present. Accordingly, processes have been developed in which the liquid or molten nonionic surfactant is mixed with the particles spray-dried beforehand or is sprayed onto a carrier substance. According to European patent application EP-A-0 360 330, for example, mixtures of nonionic surfactants and fatty acids are spayed onto a spray-dried basic powder which contains phosphates and the spray-dried pal particles thus treated are processed with such substances as carbonate.
Spray-dried carrier particles aftertreated with nonionic surfactants are known, for example, from European patent application EP-A-0 149 264 and from German patent applications DE-A-34 44 960, DE-A-35 45 947 and DE-A-39 36 405.
Unfortunately, the described process variants lead to powders which either show favorable dispensing behavior or favorable dissolving behavior or which exhibit neither favorable dissolving behavior nor favorable dispensing behavior.
Accordingly, the problem addressed by the present invention was to provide a spray-dried detergent which would show both favorable dispensing behavior and favorable dissolving behavior.